Truce Revisited

Jerusalem – Just a day after Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the Gaza Strip’s border crossings opened, he was forced to instruct the security forces to re-seal them.

The reason for the order was that Arabs from Gaza fired Kassam missiles into Israel.

On Monday evening at around 8 p.m., Kassam missiles were fired into the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council and landed near the collective farm of Moshav Yachini.

The news of the attack was communicated to Israel Defense Minister Barak, who was on his way to the airport to catch a flight to Greece. Israeli Security officials reported that Mr. Barak consulted with security and political official and decided to seal the crossings in response to the fire.

The border crossings were opened just last week as part of the truce agreement. Last Tuesday, three Kassams were fired. The defense minister instructed the security establishment to seal the borders.

On Friday, the defense minister permitted the Nahal Oz fuel depot to be partially reopened to supply the Gaza power plant with fuel. On Sunday, Mr. Barak authorized opening the border crossings at Erez, Sufa and Nahal Oz, and on?Monday, he authorized opening the Karni crossing.

“In order for the Palestinians to be able to really feel the change, we need to create a continued opening of the crossings and then they’ll be able to fill their storehouses and have plenty,” said one security official. “The problem is that it’s impossible to ignore the rocket fire at the State of Israel. The truce agreement talks about an absolute cessation of all types of fire, and they haven’t honored it.”

Egypt Opens Rafah Border Crossing, Without Israel’s Consent

After opening the border crossings in the Gaza Strip from Israel, Egypt also opened the Rafah crossing to Palestinian traffic beginning yesterday, though this move was done without coordination with Israel.

According to the agreement made between the Palestinian Authority and Egypt, the Rafah crossing point was opened yesterday morning and will remain open until tomorrow evening. Egypt will allow people who wish to travel abroad to leave through the crossing point, and tomorrow will be devoted to the entry of the Palestinians who are stranded in Egypt.

The general management of the crossing points in the Palestinian Authority, which is responsible for the crossing points in Gaza, held talks with the Egyptians over the past several days in order to reach understandings and arrangements about the rules that would allow Gaza residents to leave through the Rafah crossing.

Al-Jazeera reported that the crossing point would be opened in order to allow the departure of sick people, students and Palestinians who live abroad. High-ranking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials who are responsible for the border crossings said that they knew nothing of the intent to open the Rafah crossing, and that if this needed to be done, it would not be with Israel’s consent.

The border crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip were opened yesterday for the second day in a row. Yesterday, the conveyor belt for wheat at the Karni crossing was also opened, in addition to the opening of the crossings at Sufa and Nahal Oz.

Referendum Before Withdrawal From Golan Heights

By a large majority of 65 to 18 members of Israel’s Knesset Parliament, the Knesset plenum approved in a first reading the bill requiring that a referendum be held before any withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

“This is a great victory for the supporters of the Golan Heights in the Knesset. The referendum law passed with a majority of 65 Knesset members, and the result is that the Knesset sent a message to Prime Minister Olmert and to Syrian President [Bashar] Assad that Israel would not withdraw from the Golan Heights,” said MK Yisrael Katz, one of the bill’s initiators and the chairman of the lobby for the Golan Heights. Mr. Katz promised, “The lobby will work for continued quick legislation of the law until its completion in the current Knesset.”

The bill stipulates: “Any cession of territory that is under the administrative jurisdiction of the State of Israel shall require a decision by the cabinet and the approval of the Knesset, in addition to a referendum that receives a majority.”

The bill includes two extraordinary instances for which no referendum will be required: if a cabinet decision to cede territory should be approved in the Knesset by a majority of 80 Knesset members, and if Knesset elections should be held within 180 days after the Knesset has approved the cabinet decision. In such a case, as stated above, a referendum will not be required because the matter of the concession will serve as a major part of the election campaign. The new government will be able to abolish, within 30 days, the decision of the previous government. The law will include a section regarding “the holding of the referendum,” which will contain instructions about the date of the referendum and eligibility to participate in it.

According to the bill, the referendum will be subject to the laws governing Knesset elections. The day of the referendum will be a non-working day, and the Central Elections Committee will be responsible for conducting the referendum. Since this is a bill that relates to the budget, it must be approved by more than 50 Knesset members.

Many countries have been holding referenda for many years, including Ireland, Australia, Great Britain, Greece and Spain. In the lead is Switzerland, where almost any matter can be put to a referendum if 100,000 citizens should demand it.

The bills received the signatures of 67 MKs from every Knesset faction. The ones who initiated the bill are former MK Avigdor Yitzhaki and Minister Ruhama Avraham, both from PM Olmert’s Kadima party.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008